POLITICAL MEMO; Ideology, Sure, but the Democrats Want a Winner, Too

By ADAM NAGOURNEY

Published: January 15, 2005

Howard Dean announced his candidacy for Democratic National Committee chairman declaring that the Democratic Party need not embrace Republican ideas to win back power.

And when Timothy J. Roemer, the former Indiana congressman, joined the race, he said that Democrats had become too identified with abortion rights and had to strengthen their reputation on national security issues to appeal to moderate voters.

But for all the talk about ideas and issues by symbols of two sides of the Democratic spectrum, the fight to lead the Democratic National Committee is increasingly being viewed by Democrats less as a measure of where to go ideologically and more as an old-fashioned test of logistics, management skills and popularity.

For all the talk about abortion, gay marriage and national security, the 447 Democratic committee members who will choose the next chairman on Feb. 12 seem more concerned now over how Republicans outgunned them in November, despite the efforts of Terry McAuliffe, the departing chairman, which were widely applauded by Democrats.

And as seven potential candidates prepare to appear before Democratic leaders at a forum in St. Louis on Saturday, party officials are making clear they are looking for someone to make them competitive over the next four years.

''I don't think it should be or is about ideology,'' said Mark Brewer, the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, which is interviewing the candidates in New York next Sunday in hopes of endorsing one. ''It's about the mechanics of winning the elections and how we can do better.''

Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, chairman of the Democratic Governors' Association, which is also moving to rally behind a candidate, described the fight as important but not ''the defining moment for the future of the party.''

''What we're looking for is a candidate with strong organizational and party-building skills who is from outside the Beltway and is a moderate,'' Mr. Richardson said in an interview.

And Jim Jordan, a manager of Senator John Kerry's presidential campaign who is now advising Dr. Dean, said: ''Vision and philosophy and vision and strategic sense matter. But at least as important is having the size and strength and experience and tenacity to move the party, to reform and govern a very difficult institution.''

So it is that one candidate, Simon Rosenberg, the head of the moderate New Democratic Network, has been collecting endorsements by pointing to his experience running his own organization. ''I think right now, the pragmatic people of the D.N.C. really know they need someone who can run the party,'' Mr. Rosenberg said.

Another hopeful, Representative Martin Frost of Texas, points to his success electing Democrats when he headed the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. ''Expanding the base, working with base, working with the state parties,'' Mr. Frost said. ''That's a major part of this. No one should lose sight of the fact that this is a major managerial job.'' And Donnie Fowler Jr., a South Carolina activist, has been promising party leaders that he will allocate money to train state party workers and send in troops to help in state races.

Even Dr. Dean is spending his time on the bread-and-butter issues, promising that the Democratic National Committee will pick up the salaries of executive directors of state parties and, for the most part, steering clear of ideology.

If history is any guide, the decisions about what the party should say and where it will go will be driven by leaders in Congress over the next two years and presumably by the candidates running for president immediately after that. ''Let Hillary Clinton and Evan Bayh and Howard Dean and John Kerry fight over what the message is going to be,'' said Joe Trippi, who managed Dr. Dean's presidential bid but is supporting Mr. Rosenberg for chairman.

Still, this race is not taking place in a vacuum, and the remarks by these candidates reflect the difficult post-defeat debate in the party. In particular, the candidates are discussing the extent to which the party needs to move from traditional issues like abortion rights and gay rights.

And the decision by Dr. Dean to join the race has certainly made it more ideological than usual. Should he win, his outspokenness suggests he will break with the more traditional role of party leaders.

To some extent, that accounts for the uneasiness among many Democrats about Dr. Dean, who is so closely identified with the party's antiwar left. He has sought to play down his ideological edges.

Some Democrats have tried to rally around a Dean alternative. Mr. Roemer was encouraged to run by Harry Reid, the Senate minority leader, and Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, and some Democrats urged Mr. McAuliffe to consider staying on. But so far that unease has not translated into any full-scale movement to stop Dr. Dean.

For the most part, the dominant dynamic is one of the other candidates presenting themselves as the alternative to Dr. Dean. Mr. Frost, Mr. Rosenberg and Mr. Fowler were described as having made the most success on that front to date.

There are two other known candidates, Wellington Webb, the former mayor of Denver, and David Leland, a former Ohio Democratic chairman. Mike McCurry, a Democratic strategist who is supporting Mr. Rosenberg, predicted that if Dr. Dean lost, it would not be because of his views.

Photo: Timothy J. Roemer, from left, former Gov. Howard Dean, Wellington Webb and David Leland want to lead. (Photo by John Amis/Associated Press)